Bear Flag
The most notable legacy of the "California Republic" was the adoption of its flag as the basis of the modern state Flag of California. The modern flag has a star, a grizzly bear, and a colored stripe with the words "California Republic". The Sonoma Plaza, site of the raising of the original Bear Flag, is marked by a California Historical Landmark.
The original Bear Flag was designed and made by William L. Todd, who was a first cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of president Abraham Lincoln. Todd painted the flag on domestic cotton cloth, roughly a yard and a half in length. It featured a red star based on the California Lone Star Flag that was flown during California's 1836 revolt led by Juan Alvarado and Isaac Graham. The flag also featured an image of a grizzly bear statant (standing). The modern flag shows the bear passant (walking).
The original Bear Flag was destroyed in the fires following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. A replica, created in 1896 for the 50th Anniversary celebrations, is on display at the Presidio de Sonoma (which was established in 1836 by Vallejo as a part of Mexico's attempt to halt Russian incursions into the region).
Read more about this topic: California Republic
Famous quotes containing the words bear and/or flag:
“I had some short struggle in my mind whether I should resign my lover or my liberty, but this lasted not long. I found myself as free as air and could not bear the thought of putting myself in any man’s power for life only from a present capricious inclination.”
—Sarah Fielding (1710–1768)
“By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)